‘Dumb and Dumber To’ Dropped By Warner Bros.; Sequel May Find New Home

Reports of a Dumb & Dumber sequel – to be directed by the original’s creators, Bobby and Peter Farrelly (who had nothing to do with the now-forgotten prequel, Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd) – have routinely surfaced over the years, with the most recent information confirming the title of Dumb and Dumber Towhile adding some plot details. Now it’s being reported that New Line Cinema’s parent company Warner Bros. is not moving forward with the sequel any longer.

It appears that the studio has shied away from the project despite a proposed budget in the low $30 million range, due to the poor commercial reception of the Steve Carell-starring The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, which had a similar budget but only grossed around $22 million domestically. Carrey played a rival magician to Carell’s title character, and while his performance garnered favorable reviews, the movie in general was poorly received.

All may not be lost for fans who want to see Carrey re-team with Dumb and Dumber co-star Jeff Daniels: Deadline reports that Red Granite, financier for the upcoming Martin Scorsese-Leonardo DiCaprio reunion The Wolf of Wall Street, is in the first position to pick up the sequel. There are apparently five distributors eyeing this deal, with special emphasis placed on Universal (for no apparent reason, so take that detail with some salt).

Red Granite would have to act fast to wrap up both actors, though, since Daniels is set to return to his HBO series The Newsroom, and Carrey is starring in Napoleon Dynamite director Jared Hess’ Loomis Fargo, an action-comedy set around a night guard at an armored car company who organizes a huge heist.

Logistics aside, will this project happen? Given the spotty decade experienced by the Farrelly brothers and Jim Carrey, the answer is: probably, if everyone can agree on a deal. While it’s been in development limbo for so long that we have to be continually reminded that it’s still happening, since the usually sequel-averse Carrey is apparently on board, it’s a good bet that we’ll be seeing this eventually. But do we want to?

The last time Bobby and Peter Farrelly teamed up with Jim Carrey, they gave the world Me, Myself & Irene, with everyone involved at the peak of their hilarious, gross-out form. Carrey has fared marginally better than the Farrellys since then (excluding some recent political controversy), and while his upcoming turn as Col. Stars and Stripes in Kick-Ass 2 looks like one of that sequel’s highlights, the Farrelly brothers should definitely be looking to redeem themselves after their disastrous Three Stoogesmovie.

Carrey in ‘Kick-Ass 2’

In an era of R-rated comedies which up the sex and raunch quota (even when compared to the Farrellys at their peak), Dumb and Dumber To could prove a throwback to a time when gross comedies were actually fun. Lloyd and Harry’s idiocy brought a distinct innocence to the whole thing, a trait sorely lacking in mainstream comedies today. (Re: the cynicism of The Internship.)

Expect more details on the long-running saga of Dumb and Dumber To as they surface.